Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday night issued a state of emergency statewide "as a result of the extended dangerous weather system that has and continues to impact the state with the threat of additional damage that continues to threaten the lives and property of the citizens of the state."

This edict will last until May 3 unless it is terminated sooner.

Several parishes have reported damage caused by the severe weather system, including downed trees and power lines, blocked roads, and damaged structures, with more damage expected to be reported as Tuesday dawns.

About 13,000 people were without power, mainly in eastern New Orleans, Metarie and Kenner, according to and Entergy spokeswoman.

The outage included the Canal Street streetcar line, where at least one car was stalled on the tracks.

Entergy crews were working to restore power to residents and were unsure how long the outages would last.

In Kenner, about 3,500 electric customers were without power after a line of fierce thunderstorms sliced across Kenner, pushing trees into power lines and shutting off traffic signals most notably at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Loyola Drive.

The Kenner police complex at 500 Veterans Boulevard also lost commercial power and street lights lost power in several pockets in the city, according to Doug Dodt, Kenner's emergency management coordinator. Winds blew down trees on some streets, but no injuries or major damages were reported.

Dodt said most of the power outages were in the northwest part of Kenner, west of Loyola Drive.

At 8:42 p.m., a line of severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds in excess of 60 mph were located along a line extending from 24 miles northeast of Empire to 32 miles southwest of Port Sulphur.

A severe thunderstorm warning also was issued for east central Jefferson, northwestern Plaquemines and central St. Bernard parishes until 9 p.m.

On Lake Pontchartrain at about 7:20 p.m., a waterspout was reported about four miles southwest of the midpoint of the Causeway. The waterspout was moving west at 45 knots.

Strong winds caused minor damage to some homes, as well as power outages, on the west bank of St. Charles Parish about 7:30 p.m.

The parish Emergency Operations Center reported minor damage on South Fashion Drive and in the Avalon subdivision, both in Hahnville.

View full sizeEliot Kamenitz, The Times-PicayuneA man is caught in the downpour of a passing storm on Canal Street Monday night.

Power was lost in the St. Charles Parish Courthouse at about 7 p.m. as the Parish Council was meeting, but the building's emergency generator, installed in 2009 in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, kicked on, so the building was without power for only a few seconds.

In LaPlace, power lines were reported down on Airline Highway.

At 7:54 p.m., meteorologists detected a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near Violet, six miles east of Belle Chasse, moving east at 45 mph.

At 7:41 p.m., meteorologists detected a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near Slidell, mvoing east at 45 mph.

At 7:35 p.m., 60-mph winds were reported in Mandeville. At 7:20 p.m., a wind gust of 61 mph was recorded at Louis Armstrong International Airport.

Power lines and trees were reported down in Gramercy.

At 6:46 p.m., meteorologists detected a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado eight miles southwest of Convent, or six miles east of Napoleonville, moving east at 50 mph.

At 6:55 p.m., meteorologists also detected a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near Folsom, moving east at 50 mph

At 6:48 p.m., meteorologists detected a line of severe
thunderstorms capable of producing 60 mph winds along a line west of Reserve and Ponchatoula and moving east at 45 mph.